Song Qianqian opened her eyes, looking weak, and said, "Mother..."
"Qianqian, you're finally awake."
Madam Fang's face lit up with joy as she tightly held her hand.
Seeing that the timing was right, Song Ci stepped forward and interrupted the mother-daughter act: "It's good that little sister is awake. I was just discussing with Mother about breaking off my engagement to fulfill your wish..."
"No!"
Song Qianqian sharply interrupted Song Ci, gripping Madam Fang's hand tightly, her face pale and eyes tearful.
"Mother, I am pure and innocent with Master Gu. He is meant for sister. How could I take sister's marriage? Please, sister, don't force me anymore. If you do, I would rather die to prove my innocence."
As she spoke, she got up and made as if to smash her head against the bedpost.
"Qianqian!"
Madam Fang was terrified out of her wits and quickly hugged her, coaxing.
"No exchange, we won't exchange. Don't scare mother. As long as you're fine, mother will agree to anything."
"Mother..."
Seeing Madam Fang relent, Song Qianqian's body went limp, and she threw herself into Madam Fang's arms, crying bitterly.
"Mother, I would rather stay unmarried forever than snatch sister's good marriage. I won't go out anymore from now on; I'll obediently learn the rules from you..."
"Alright, alright, mother hears you. From now on, you will stay in Fanghua Courtyard. After a long time, the world will eventually forget today's events."
Madam Fang comforted her younger daughter in her arms and looked at Song Ci.
"Ci'er, go back first. We'll talk about this another day."
"Yes..."
Song Ci left, feeling regretful. Such a good opportunity, and she still hadn't broken off this engagement.
It seemed Song Qianqian didn't want to be the scapegoat at all?
As soon as Song Ci stepped out of the room, she ran into Gu Mingyuan, who was standing at the door with a maidservant, looking dazed and pale, as if he had suffered a heavy blow.
Song Ci raised an eyebrow. Had he heard everything?
Being so despised by his beloved—how pathetic.
Too bad, the king's love goes unrequited.
Who knows, in this life, even knowing that Song Qianqian doesn't care for him, will Gu Mingyuan still be a lapdog?
Having seen enough of the drama, Song Ci turned to leave.
But Gu Mingyuan blocked her way.
"Miss Song, please stay. What happened yesterday between me and Second Young Lady was truly an accident. Don't misunderstand."
"Whether it was an accident or not doesn't matter. The world only sees the result."
Gu Mingyuan looked humiliated and angry: "Miss Song, you can't say that. Second Young Lady is your sister. How can you slander her reputation? Where is your conscience? Is this how an elder sister should behave?"
Song Ci sneered.
"Yesterday, when you accused me of having an affair with Young Master Shen, you were full of propriety and righteousness. But now, when it comes to you and Song Qianqian, it's slander?
Master Gu is as consistent as ever—strict with others, lenient with yourself. Very hypocritical."
"You..."
Gu Mingyuan was rendered speechless, his face unconsciously turning red.
Song Ci flicked her sleeve and left.
Leaving Gu Mingyuan awkwardly standing there.
He glanced at the door, but ultimately didn't have the nerve to intrude, and slunk away.
Song Ci left the mansion with Amber, heading straight to a teahouse.
In the private room, Shen Huaizhou was sitting with his legs crossed, cracking melon seeds and chatting with his mom. When he saw Song Ci enter, he waved her over.
"Little sister, why do you look so upset? Who pissed you off?"
"I'm fine. I ran into a dog."
"Did the dog bite you?" Cai Tingshu asked, looking at her daughter with concern.
"It wouldn't dare! It circled around the door twice, then slunk away with its tail between its legs."
"A mangy dog!"
Shen Huaizhou asked with a gossipy look: "How did it go last night? Who did Song Qianqian choose in the end?"
"She chose house arrest, learning rules from Madam Fang, waiting for the rumors to die down."
Cai Tingshu frowned at this: "This second sister of yours is no simple character. She'd rather cut off her own arm than be the scapegoat. Now you're in a passive position. What's your plan? You can't marry that scumbag."
"No rush. One bite at a time. I'm not in a hurry to marry. If Song Qianqian can endure, Gu Mingyuan may not be able to stand the inner torment. He's desperate to marry his beloved; he won't give up easily.
As the saying goes, a persistent man wears down a resistant woman. It depends on how Gu Mingyuan tries."
"So you want them to fight among themselves? That works, saves you from getting your hands dirty." Cai Tingshu sighed.
"Every family has its own problems."
She then brought up her own household.
The in-laws in the Second Branch only thought about power and profit. Her younger brother-in-law was a henpecked husband; if his wife said east, he wouldn't dare go west. The illegitimate sons and daughters were also foolish, willingly used as pawns by the Second Branch.
This made her very frustrated.
Song Ci frowned: "Mother, how about removing the firewood from under the pot?"
"Elaborate?"
Cai Tingshu looked curious.
Song Ci: "You go back to your maternal family and adopt a nephew under your own name. With this powerful external enemy, their alliance will naturally collapse. They'll just fight among themselves like dogs, and won't have time to bother you."
"Great idea!"
Cai Tingshu was pleasantly surprised: "Girl, you have such a sharp mind. Mom will do as you say and go back to clean them up."
After chatting about family matters,
Song Ci asked about her dad and second brother's whereabouts.
Shen Huaizhou shook his head. He hadn't found any useful information yet.
Song Ci sighed too.
No news is good news.
"Big brother, you need to lose weight. If you get any fatter, they'll slaughter you as a New Year pig!"
"I want to lose weight, but I can't control my mouth."
When it came to weight loss, Shen Huaizhou felt like crying. All the methods he used before had failed on himself.
For the first time, he deeply understood what the chubby kids in the weight loss camps meant by "gaining weight just from drinking cold water."
Song Ci took Shen Huaizhou's pulse and found that his heart rhythm was irregular, his metabolism was off, and his visceral fat was high. He needed both exercise and acupuncture.
She had someone bring silver needles, performed acupuncture on Shen Huaizhou, and wrote out a prescription, handing it over.
"Boil three bowls of water down to one bowl. Take one dose daily for seven days, then come back to see me."
"Daughter, please take a look at me too."
"Okay."
Song Ci readily agreed. She was a doctor and usually too busy. Her family had to go to the hospital for minor ailments. Now that she was completely free, she had plenty of time to help her family regulate their health.
Her mother's body was still quite young, just over thirty, with only minor issues. With proper care, there would be no problem.
After the health check, the three gathered for a meal. Cai Tingshu hoped Song Ci would leave the Yong'an Marquis Manor as soon as possible.
The manor looked glamorous on the surface, but inside it was rotten. She wanted to adopt Song Ci as her own, recognize her as a goddaughter, and eventually give her everything from the General's Mansion.
Song Ci refused. It was against the norms. The ancient clan system was not to be trifled with.
A wrong move could easily backfire.
Song Ci didn't want to cause trouble for her family. She had never been a parasitic vine relying on others.
Song Ci changed the subject: "Mom, if you really want to help me, you could find evidence of the Zhao family's corruption and have someone report them to the yamen. The Zhao family raised Song Qianqian. Now that she's the legitimate daughter of the manor, she should share the family's burdens. She wants to hide like a turtle; I'm going to make her shine in the spotlight."
"No problem. I knew my daughter wouldn't be taken advantage of. Don't worry, Mom will have someone investigate. I guarantee we'll dig up everything about the Zhao family, down to their ancestors eight generations back."
Shen Huaizhou also wanted to vent his anger for his sister.
"Little sister, what do you think about me taking care of Gu Mingyuan? We'll throw a sack over his head and teach him a lesson to make you feel better!"
"Beat him thoroughly, but don't kill him. Otherwise, if he doesn't come out to stir things up, who will annoy Song Qianqian?"
"Don't worry."
Shen Huaizhou was excited. It would be best to break that scumbag's three legs, so he couldn't fool around and disgust his sister anymore.
After discussing their plans, they agreed to meet once every seven days, keep a low profile, and integrate into this era as soon as possible...
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